RIO RANCHO, N.M. – Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful and U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján continues to hold a comfortable fundraising edge over his GOP opponents in a race for open Senate seat in New Mexico, federal records show.
According to the Federal Election Commission, the Santa Fe Democrat raised more than $1 million in contributions during the first three months of 2020. That’s more than all of his potential Republican opponents combined, reports show.
Records also show that Lujan had a healthy $2.5 million cash-on-hand going into April. He has no Democratic primary opponent.
Meanwhile, former television weatherman Mark Ronchetti led the money race among Republicans during the same period, records show. His campaign reported around $650,000 in contributions after announcing at the end of last year he was leaving his weatherman job and running for Senate. Ronchetti’s campaign said it had $564,437 cash-on-hand.
Gavin Clarkson, a former U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs officials under President Donald Trump, raised $311,411 in contributions and reported having $173,107 cash-on-hand.
Elisa Martinez, the founder of an anti-abortion group in New Mexico, reported raising $163,111 after fanfare around her announcement about getting in the race. But she has burned through most of that amount and the total $318,000 she raised since joining the contest.
Her campaign reported just having $34,298 left in cash-on-hand.
The money disadvantage for Republicans illustrates the challenges the GOP faces in winning in a state that hasn’t had a Republican U.S. senator since Pete Domenici retired in 2009.
Two Republican candidates seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small for a seat that represents southern New Mexico have raised sizable amounts of money in a race that both parties are expected to target.
Torres Small won the historically conservative-leaning district in 2018 by fewer than 3,000 votes.